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  • ‘What If’: Chadwick Boseman Voices Multiple Versions of T’Challa

    ‘What If’: Chadwick Boseman Voices Multiple Versions of T’Challa

    What If has a lot of challenges ahead. It is Marvel Studios first attempt at an animated series, and also will be the last time we get Chadwick Boseman’s performance as T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ever since the first trailer was released, the series shared a first look at the future Black Panther traveling through space and taking Peter Quill’s place.

    Well, it seems that he’ll appear in four episodes, and executive producer Brad Winderbaum confirmed he’ll play different versions of the character. His tragic passing also influenced the show’s development, especially their approach to the score to honor T’Challa’s story in the new Disney+ series.

    He plays different versions of the character. I wouldn’t say that anything changed drastically. We wanted to honor, frankly, his performance and his eagerness to be a part of the project. In retrospect, he recorded this episodes for us knowing what we all know now. We wanted to honor what he did, so we actually didn’t change a lot of it. There were certain things, in the context of his passing, especially musically…Lauren Karpman delivered what I think is an incredible score for the entire series and the way she approached T’Challa throughout, especially in light of his passing, is really beautiful.

    There’s a good chance one version of T’Challa will appear in the Killmonger-focused episode, which teases him appearing in Wakanda. We even got a Funko Pop teasing his future connection to the country in this alternative universe. Still, it’s great to see that the animated series will pay respects to the actor. It’s still uncertain how the live-action Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will tackle his tragic passing and continue the story set-up with his appearances throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No matter what, his legacy will live on no matter what.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Don’t Expect New MCU Characters in ‘What If’

    Don’t Expect New MCU Characters in ‘What If’

    We’re only over a week away from Marvel Studios’ new venture on Disney+. Not just that, it’ll be their first animated series that explores the vast multiverse introduced in Loki. The creative team behind the series confirmed they weren’t restricted by other series exploring this concept. Yet, it seems there was one specific rule set by Marvel Studios’ head Kevin Feige. In an interview with the Malaysian site Kakuchopurei, director Bryan Andrews revealed that they weren’t allowed to introduce new characters.

    We basically had operating instructions from Kevin Feige. Basically, we can’t introduce anyone or any character that hasn’t already been introduced in an MCU movie. You won’t be seeing, like, some random person pop up from the comics or other franchises that we hadn’t seen already in MCU proper

    It’s an interesting rule to set. While it makes sense they would want to focus on What If scenarios featuring well-known characters, they could’ve added some characters that normally would never get the spotlight in a film or series. Yet, it also opens up the possibility they might have some plans after all.

    Of course, it’s also a way to avoid theories surrounding these newly introduced characters existing during the original run. It could cause some continuity errors if they plan on introducing these characters in a future series or film if one looks too deeply into their appearance. We still don’t know how they’ll tackle the multiverse in the future, and if this might also connect to Loki‘s He Who Remains storyline. We got introduced to Kang. So, he could technically appear.

    Source: Kakuchopurei

  • REPORT: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Likely Delayed to an Early 2022 Premiere

    REPORT: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Likely Delayed to an Early 2022 Premiere

    After a long wait, we finally got our first look at Ms. Marvel’s full costume for the upcoming Disney+ series. It included her brand-new ability that seems to envelop her hand in purple energy. We still have no idea if she will remain an Inhuman and keep her Embiggen abilities, but there are some changes heading our way.  Sadly, it seems like we’ll also have to wait longer due to a report by veteran television insider Matt Webb Mitovich from TVLine. In his latest Matt’s Inside Line entry, he shared the following insight on the series potentially delayed-release:

    I asked around and it is very safe to assume at this point that Ms. Marvel is now on track for an early 2022 premiere.

    There has been a lot of speculation that this delay was imminent due to Hawkeye getting an official release this November. It’s uncertain what it might mean for the original line-up, but there’s a chance that her series requires more effects work and, as a result, got pushed back. We know very little about the series, with rumors all over the place throughout the last few months.

    There’s still a chance we might get a surprise release, especially with the series getting a brief sizzle reel during Disney’s Investors Day last December. If it does end up releasing in 2022, it may take WandaVision’s January slot. It’ll likely run six weeks. So, it might not affect any plans for next year’s release schedule, which Marvel Studios is still keeping close to the chest. Here’s hoping we get some insight in the coming months into what their plans are for 2022.

    Source: TVLine, Comic Book

  • ‘What If’: Pandemic Pushed an Episode Into Season 2

    ‘What If’: Pandemic Pushed an Episode Into Season 2

    It looks like we might’ve finally gotten the confirmation on how many episodes we can expect in Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation. What If executive producer Brad Winderbaum confirmed that they originally planned ten episodes in the first season before pushing one into the second due to the ongoing pandemic. It also seems to imply that we might get the second entry sooner rather than later.

    We had to push an episode into Season 2. It was just, honestly, like everything else, that was a COVID impact. There was an episode that just wouldn’t hit the completion date, but luckily we do get to see it in the second season of the show. Season 2 will also be 9.

    He also goes on to describe their approach to the length of each episode, as they weren’t restricted or given any mandate in regard to how they would tackle each episode, which acts as its own individual story.

    We targeted a half an hour for each episode. Some of them come in a little longer, some of them come in a little shorter. We wanted to tell as many stories as we could and we had a certain budget we had to work with so it felt like that 10-episode — now 9-episode run — was the right quantity.

    There are rumors that at least Captain Carter would make her way into live-action in the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. The latest trailer also teased that this team of multiversal members will unite as the Guardians of the Multiverse. So, it’s uncertain how it might connect to an overarching story and continue into the second season. It’s still an anthology series at its core. At this point, anything is possible in the MCU.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘What If’: Dave Bautista Reveals He Was Never Asked to Voice Drax in Disney+ Series

    ‘What If’: Dave Bautista Reveals He Was Never Asked to Voice Drax in Disney+ Series

    In all our excitement for the upcoming animated series, What If, we’ve been wondering about the noticeable absence of specific actors. We know that a handful of actors, which includes Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Tom Holland aren’t returning for the series. Yet, there was also the surprising absence of Dave Bautista in the list even though we got a brief glimpse of his Drax interacting with T’Challa’s version of Star-Lord. Well, the actor took to Twitter and unveiled he never got asked in the first place.

     

    https://twitter.com/davebautista/status/1422297797588623361?s=21

     

    This reveal is rather surprising, as the actor has been outspoken on his love for the character. We also know he’ll return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. So, why wouldn’t they want him to reprise the role? Either they already reached their limit on the budget with the massive voice cast, or Drax might not even have a line in the series. Yet, as the image above proves, he’ll interact with T’Challa at some point in the series.

    So, it’s a bit baffling how they determine who joined the cast and who doesn’t. It would be great to get an official statement on how this got determined throughout production. Animation takes quite a bit of time, and they confirmed they’ve been working on it long before either Loki or the Doctor Strange sequel entered production. Even James Gunn was surprised by this statement in a reaction to his tweet. He’s openly stated that the upcoming Guardians film is likely the last time he’ll portray the character. We’ll see what the future holds for the iconic team member.

     

    Source: Twitter

  • Paramount’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Film Adds ‘SNL’s Colin and Casey Jost as Writers

    Paramount’s ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Film Adds ‘SNL’s Colin and Casey Jost as Writers

    It looks like the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film has found its writers, as Deadline just shared that Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost and his brother Casey will tackle the project.  This project is separate from Seth Rogen’s new animated TV series, as it’ll be produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Scott Mednick, and Galen Walker. Plot details remain under wraps, but it’ll feature the popular brothers of pizza-eating mutated turtles.

    There’s no word if this will be a live-action adaptation of the popular franchise, or if they will tackle an animated adaptation once more. We do know that Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures’ will adapt the turtles with a full-fledged CG reboot. Gravity Falls director Jeff Rowe is attached to the project, with Brendan O’Brien working on the screenplay. The last we heard of the project was around four months ago when Illuminerdi released character descriptions.

     

     

    What is curious about this movie is not only that nickelodeon and Paramount are fast-tracking the project, it’s also Jost’s first major franchise. He did write Worst Man for Universal and starred in Tom & Jerry, but he is slated to return for the next SNL season. The IP is a high priority, and it seems that their pitch for the film might’ve convinced them to tackle it on the silver screen once more.

    TMNT is a fascinating franchise that seems to get rebooted quite frequently by Nickelodeon. We’ve seen many iterations across the years that add a unique spin to the classic four turtles.

    Source: Deadline

     

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘What If’s Multiverse Concept Wasn’t Restricted by ‘Loki’ or ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘What If’s Multiverse Concept Wasn’t Restricted by ‘Loki’ or ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    In the final episode of Loki, we watched as the Sacred Timeline expanded into madness. It branched off into every possible direction. This new pathway of infinite universe sets the stage for Marvel Studios’s What If. It’ll be our interlude into the multiverse ahead of Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. With multiple different projects tackling this unknown territory, it could become difficult to keep things in line between the many creatives involved.  In an interview with Charles Murphy, head writer A.C. Bradley discussed how they coordinated with other projects like Loki and Doctor Strange.

    When it comes to coordinating between Marvel projects, it’s not as much as you actually think. Weirdly enough because we’re animation and animation is a medium of patience, we started production- I started writing on the show back in the fall, late fall, of 2018, so my job was basically to keep the rules loose, so that the Loki team could if they needed to create anything with the TVA, I hadn’t already set any rules on papers. So, that was kind of easy and fun, it let me run wild, I didn’t have to worry about the TVA and pruning timelines, and I didn’t have to worry so much about Doctor Strange 2. This was just so as much fun in all the weird and wild places that we can go in the multiverse.

    Hearing that the team didn’t feel any restrictions with the multiverse and how they could tell their stories is great and should make for some interesting outcomes. Their concept is also loose enough for them not to be too dependent, as they mainly explore different versions o the multiverse based on stories we’ve witnessed in the past years. It also helps that their early work on the project gives others the chance to work from where they left off, as noted with how they left it vague to ensure Loki’s TVA concept wouldn’t get affected.

  • ‘Ms. Marvel’ Promo Art Confirms Rumored New Abilities

    ‘Ms. Marvel’ Promo Art Confirms Rumored New Abilities

    Ms.Marvel is reportedly set to air sometime this year and it seems like merchandise for the series is already beginning to trickle out. Rumors have swirled around Kamala’s power set and it seems some new promo art from the upcoming series has confirmed a rumor we’ve been hearing for quite some time now.

    This new piece of merchandise featuring Iman Vellani suited up as Ms.Marvel seems to confirm that this version of Kamala will indeed wield purple construct abilities that allow her to conjure things up the way a Green Lantern does. The rumor from a while back stated that the bangle Kamala wears on her arm allows her to conjure this purple energy that she uses to fight crime, and here, it looks to have taken a crystallized form. The extent of these powers remains unknown, and how they even manifest from the bangle is a mystery.

     

    It’s unknown if Ms. Marvel will still have her classic embiggening ability from the comics, but the power set could be reimagined so that the constructs act as her stretching and embiggening abilities and act similar to her original powers. Fan reception towards those rumors has been very divisive for the most part and this confirmation will surely spark more conversation about it. With no release date in sight, it’ll be interesting to see if the series will release this year, or makes its way to early next year,

    SOURCE: Twitter  

  • Set Photo Offers First Look at Ezra Millers ‘The Flash’ Suit

    Set Photo Offers First Look at Ezra Millers ‘The Flash’ Suit

    Production on the upcoming Flash film has been quite busy recently. They took to the streets of Glasgow for a high-speed chase between Ben Affleck’s Batman and a mystery Humvee. While there seems to be no sign of the Flash anywhere that doesn’t mean he isn’t around. A photo leaked from the set of the DC film looks to have given us our very first look at the scarlet speedster in his new outfit, a much smoother and vibrant red suit featuring the classic gold accents and of course, the wings.

    A new set photo from Twitter user crypt0dad looks to have given us the first look at a suit that looks to be quite the vast departure from Barry’s first suit, which was seen in both cuts of Justice League. What was once a armored suit made from rocket metal and held together with wires looks to have been turned into a much more streamlined look and features golden boots. Of course he has the classic wings on his helmet. Surrounded by quite the green screen, context on the scene remains absent. The tweet in question includes some might interesting details on who may be with Barry.

    https://twitter.com/crypt0dad_/status/1422192214474637314?s=20

    The user explains that while he was working on the film with the titular hero, he wasn’t the only one. The user mentions that Batman and Superman were on set with him at the same time. However it remains unclear which Batman it was whether it be Keaton or Affleck. The “Superman” could’ve been Sasha Calle‘s Supergirl, but would be odd to not call her by her name. While we’ve yet to see a full official look at Barry’s new out, this should give you a much better idea of what to expect, since it isn’t the best photo.

    Source: Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘WHAT IF…?’ Creators Originally Wanted to Go 2D

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘WHAT IF…?’ Creators Originally Wanted to Go 2D

    Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation is set to release on August 11th with What If…?, a series that will span a series of countless alternate outcomes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At a glance, the show immediately stands out with its unique art style and animation. However, the series almost looked like a completely different show at one point. In a recent interview with our very own Charles Murphy, What If…? director Bryan Andrews revealed that when the show first began development, they pictured it in 2D animation but decided otherwise due to the amount of work needed.

    “Originally .it would’ve been awesome to go 2D because cause I love it, but you know, everyones busy. There’s a lot of animation being made right now and a lot of great studios have already been snatched up and the clock was ticking and we needed to do something. We felt a 3D-for-2D style might actually help us because there was a number of studios that were available that could do that. The only thing was that we wanted to lean even more heavily into the 2D part of that 3D-for-2D because most cel-shaded 2D-for-3D stuff I really dislike. We’re trying to push it and they were all excited about trying to push it as well and its an ongoing process that we’re still trying to figure out.”

    With Marvel Studios focusing on more animation, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a 2D animated series down the road to set it apart from What If…? and further expand the possibilities of animation. The art of great 2D animation has been lost in this sophisticated age of 3D animation so a return to form would be most welcome to see.